


pink skies

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: M/M, Moxlea, Roommates, TAGGING IS STUPID THIS IS A MOXLEA FIC, Tags to be added, Trans Male Character, jon is a goddamn mess, just to clarify, oh yeah we're going there with this one lads, trans leakee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:33:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22802602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: roommate searching is hell, until it's not.
Relationships: Dean Ambrose | Jon Moxley/Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley/Leakee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	pink skies

**Author's Note:**

> little bit different voice style in this one :p
> 
> YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO POST/REPOST ANY OF THIS FAN WORK, FULL OR IN PART, OR TO USE IT IN VIDEO/DISCUSSION, WHETHER FOR MONETARY GAIN OR NOT. LEGAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST VIOLATIONS.

Jon was so tired of people. 

Like, to be fair, he was  _ always _ tired of people, that was his permanent state, but the feeling really came out while searching for roommates. He could handle the hippie couple that reeked of pot that wanted to move in, he could handle the dudebro nerd who gave a total creepy vibe, even the weird chick with fake dreads, but a goddamn Nazi. A goddamn  _ Nazi _ wanted to come live with him. What the fuck. Jon only barely had held back from physically attacking the guy. 

He didn’t actually need help on rent. A few bills, yeah, but mostly the property taxes. Jon had inherited a house from his great-grandfather-which had actually sucked, because he’d been one of the few members of Jon’s family that Jon could actually goddamn stand, and now he had a house. Which...could be worse, really. It wasn’t a bad house. Could probably stand some upgrades, but everything that needed to be functional was-the electric, the plumbing, it was all up to date. It was comfortable, and Jon was happy about not having to worry about pissing off a landlord or other people in an apartment complex. 

But his job only paid so much, and he was still paying off school, hence the need for a roommate. 

There was one more person he had to meet with, out of everyone who’d sent him emails about it. Jon scrubbed his hands over his face. He was tired. 

There was a knock on the door, and Jon sighed, standing and taking a deep breath before opening the door. 

“Hi! You must be Jon Moxley, it’s nice to meet you!” 

Jon stared, wide-eyed, at the man in front of him. His first thought was something along the lines of ‘big’, followed by ‘soft’, then finally by ‘handsome’. He blinked and let his eyes travel over the man’s body; he was taller than Jon by an inch, and just….thick. Everywhere. He had a little-well, more than a little-pudge hanging over his jeans and he was wearing a football jersey-some college team from Georgia, if Jon remembered right-and he managed to somehow not look like a douchebag. It looked right on him, on his bulky frame. 

“Yeah. You must be-”

“Leakee Iupeli.”

Jon nodded and noticed Leakee had stuck his hand out, and Jon took it, shaking it and still a little stunned. Leakee’s voice was….deep. It was deep and gorgeous and he had beautiful, wavy, dark hair that reached just below his jaw, but there was a very cute chubbiness to his face, enhanced by fairly sparse facial hair. 

“May I come in?”

Jesus, he was polite. How was Jon supposed to live with someone who actually had manners? He let Leakee in, and Leakee looked around. 

“Wow-this place is really nice, Jon.”   
“Thanks. Uh. Was my great-grandfather’s place, he passed about two months ago.”

Leakee turned to him, his big brown eyes wide and sad. 

“Oh, I’m-I’m really sorry for your loss, that’s horrible.”

Jon shrugged. He didn’t want to get into that.

“Is what it is. So you looking for a place to live?”

Leakee walked around the living room and kitchen-he was confident, trailing his fingers over the walls and counters. 

“Yeah, I-I actually just moved here, for a job-was looking for places to live and your listing came up. I thought about just getting a place to myself, but...I like living with people. More used to it.”

Jon stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Leakee smiled. 

“I have a really big family, so it’d feel weird just being on my own.”   
“Ah. Well-uh-mostly I’d be just collecting like-not rent, but the bills would be split, and just like...stuff for property tax and shit like that. Bills shouldn’t be crazy high, either. Uh-I do need to ask you some shit, beforehand.”

“Of course, go right ahead.”   
Leakee leaned against the counter, keeping his posture open. He was an open book. That was becoming very clear.

“Alright. Ever been to prison? It’s not a dealbreaker or anything, I just like to know.”

Leakee laughed, and man, Jon would not mind listening to that sound more.

“No, no prison stays.”

“You any kind of like-homophobe or racist or some shit?”

Leakee crossed his arms at that, looking nervous, and Jon prepared himself for disappointment.

“I mean-I think when it comes to a lot of stuff like that, I have-kind of the same issues as everyone, like sometimes having those immediate prejudiced thoughts, but I mean-that’s just something to unlearn and grow from. I think that’s hard to really answer, but-I don’t actively-I’m not out there chanting ‘blue lives matter’ or some bullshit, no. And-I mean-I can pretty much guarantee that I don’t have a problem with people of color, or queer people. That’d be...kind of weird.”

Jon tilted his head. That could mean a few things. Leakee glanced at him, reaching up and brushing his hair behind his ear.

“I’m-you know-”

“Oh-shit, dude, I didn’t mean-you don’t gotta disclose shit about yourself, I just don’t-I had a goddamn Nazi come by earlier and I’m not into that shit-”

Leakee was still not really making eye contact, the shyness a stark contrast to his originally confident demeanor. 

“I-it’s not like I mind people knowing, it’s just-uh-I only started transitioning a few months ago and-gotta worry about what people are gonna think or do-”

Jon let himself be surprised for a moment. He knew he shouldn’t be, because trans people could look like literally anyone on the planet, but he still hadn’t expected it. Leakee did seem incredibly nervous the longer Jon was quiet and he reached up to brush his hair behind his ear again.

“I’m-like I’m not gonna do anything that you’d be worried about-the second bedroom is equal opportunity, you know?”

That did make Leakee laugh, and Jon blushed. He really did have a beautiful laugh and an even more beautiful smile. 

“Well...do you have any more questions for me?”

Jon sighed and leaned against the wall. 

“Uh...what do you do? Like, that job you moved here for?”

Leakee blushed, honest to God, and Jon could not stop staring at him. 

“I’m a music teacher. Uh-at Jefferson Memorial, I start this year, teaching piano and choir.”

Jon grinned.

“Gonna keep me up at night with all that noise?”

Leakee laughed again and bit his lip. 

“Promise not to. Cross my heart and all that. Um...do you mind if I ask what you do?”

Jon was surprised with himself. He actually didn’t mind.   
“I’m an airplane mechanic.”   
“Wow, really? That’s really cool, I’ve never met anyone who works on airplanes-”

Leakee seemed very genuinely impressed, and that made Jon feel things that Jon really would rather not examine in any close way.

“Well, shit, dude. Uh-yeah, I mean-you’re good. If you want-I can show you your room and all that shit first, but-house is already ready and shit, you can move in whenever.”   
Leakee’s eyes went wide and he smiled, a little hesitant to let his face fully show the excitement he was clearly feeling.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean-Christ, you’re the only person I haven’t kicked out after a minute.”   
That got another beautiful laugh out of Leakee, and Jon let himself smile a little. So maybe roommate searching  _ wasn’t _ as God-awful as he’d originally thought.

\---

Jon panted and wiped the back of his hand over his forehead. They were moving Leakee’s things in today-he didn’t have much, but it was hot out, and the air conditioning was proving to be a blessing in moving all of the boxes and the bed and bookshelves. They’d only known each other a few days, but Jon was already happy with his decision to let Leakee live with him. He’d thought whoever he’d end up sharing the house with would be mildly bearable at best, but Leakee was, thus far, a fucking  _ delight _ . He was sweet, thoughtful, a little cocky sometimes, but not in a way that made Jon want to punch him. 

And it was  _ rare _ for Jon to not want to punch someone. 

Leakee flopped onto the mattress, closing his eyes and grinning, and Jon went ahead and did, too. 

“Man, it feels good to just...know I have a place to sleep. This is awesome.”

Jon huffed and smiled. Leakee was just….so friggin’ nice. Jon still wasn’t entirely sure how to interact with a Nice Person, but Leakee seemed persistent on actually hanging out with him and being around him. Almost like he enjoyed being around Jon, but that seemed unrealistic, in Jon’s opinion. 

Leakee nudged his arm.

“Hey, let’s get something nice to eat. Like-let’s go out, we deserve something nice after all this work.”

Jon blinked. 

“If you want, sure.”

Leakee sat up and looked down at Jon. He was smiling, still, and Jon wasn’t really sure what to do with someone looking at him like that. All  _ fond _ and  _ nice _ . Like he really wanted to go out to dinner with Jon. He stretched his arms over his head and Jon's gaze immediately zeroed in on the exposed line of stomach where his shirt had lifted. Leakee was so soft everywhere. So grabbable. Jon licked his lips and sat up, hoping his new roommate-slash-possible-friend didn't notice Jon ogling his adorably soft tummy and lovehandles.

“Uh-I should probably shower before we go, but if you want, you can jump in there first.”

Leakee smiled, bright and sweet and open as per usual.

“Thanks, I think I probably need one too. I'll keep it short.”

“Don't worry about it.”

Leakee dug through a bag-it held some of his clothes, his others were in boxes-and pulled out what was clearly a hotel towel.

“Did you take that from the hotel you were staying at?”

Leakee looked up at him and shrugged, grinning.

“It's a really good towel, dude.”

Jon laughed and laid back on the bed, eyes closing as he listened to Leakee heading off to the bathroom, the shower turning on. He stayed there a few minutes, just….well, mostly imagining what Leakee must look like in that shower, drops of water dripping down over his body, sliding over the big curves of his chest and hips, those thick, gorgeous thighs, the heat turning his skin just a little red-tinted-

Jon sat up, taking a deep breath. He blushed, ignoring his hard-on for the moment. He may be kind of an asshole, but he knew it was impolite to tend to your dick in your new roommate's bed. He didn't even have sheets on yet. Jon left to his own room, grabbing fresh clothes and his own towel and waiting. Still thinking, as much as he tried not to, about Leakee, naked and warm in the shower. He was so damn beautiful, and so big-that was what Jon couldn't get over. He'd never really had a preference when it came to the body type of his partners, cause beggars can't be choosers-really though, he'd just never cared. Short, tall, thin, fat, he never really gave a damn so long as the person was one of the select percent of the population that Jon could bear being around. And, as we've noted multiple times, Leakee definitely counted in that group. The fact that he had an amazingly thick, solid body and a fat ass was just the delicious frosting on the cake that was his roommate. 

Jon bit his lip and squeezed his cock through his jeans. He probably should just ignore it, let it fade on its own, but...the thoughts and images in his brain persisted. He sighed and quickly unzipped his jeans, pulling his cock out and immediately pumping his hand over it, the image of Leakee, bare and beautiful, in his head. He knew Leakee had stretch marks, he'd gotten a tiny glimpse of them earlier when Leakee had stretched, and Jon desperately wanted to lick each and every one of the marks. Jon bit down on his lip harder, thinking about dropping to his knees and using his mouth on Leakee-of course he didn't know exactly what the man looked like, but Jon knew he'd adore it-both mentally and with his dick-no matter what. Of course then Jon wondered if Leakee even liked to be touched there, or if he preferred anal-Jon had previously fucked an afab trans person who'd insisted on only that-or if Leakee maybe only topped. Jon wouldn't mind that, and he felt his face flush with heat at the thought of Leakee's soft, big body on top of him while slowly fucking into Jon with a nice, huge strap-on-it would have to be huge, just to be proportional to the rest of Leakee. Jon brought his other hand up to his mouth, covering it, trying to muffle his moans. He hadn’t gotten fucked in a while, but thinking about Leakee slowly opening him up, eating him out before fucking him until he couldn’t walk pushed Jon right over that edge, his cock pulsing in his hand as he came. 

He took a few minutes to catch his breath, and heard the shower turn off. Jon looked down at the mess on his shirt and sighed, taking the shirt off and tucking himself back into his jeans, and Leakee knocked on his door. 

“Hey, I’m out, if you wanna jump in there-”

“Yeah, I’ll-just a minute.”

Jon blushed and sighed. At least he’d had the forethought to close his door. He stood and made his way to the bathroom, and smiled at the sight of the shower still running. Leakee had left it on for him. 

What the fuck was Jon gonna do with this guy.

\---

Two and a half months into living with Leakee, and Jon was getting the sinking suspicion that Leakee was maybe, just maybe, genuinely interested in Jon as a person, and-to Jon's shock and fear-actually wanted to be  _ friends _ . 

Now, up until this point, Jon had had approximately, generously, about four friends at any given time. And 'friends’ defined here meant 'people whom Jon could stand to be around for no less than half an hour without defenestrating himself’. He didn't even  _ talk _ to his friends that often. Jon mostly just occasionally went out with them or bore with them dropping by his house to sleep on his couch and eat his food, and his relationships with at least half of those friends was often vitriolic. Not in a super toxic way, mind you, Jon was just kind of an ass, and his friends were similarly.

Leakee was not. 

Leakee was, as we mentioned earlier, sometimes a little cocky, but that confidence was….refreshing; it came from a place of security and self-love, unlike some of Jon's other friends, whose confidence generally sprung from a need for the world to think of them as a badass while knowing deep-down that they were extremely flawed and in need of just.  _ Copious _ amounts of therapy. Jon himself bordered far more on the latter category, but he'd at least gotten himself a head doctor. Tyler and Nikki could stand to do the same. Leakee, however, unlike Jon and most of the people Jon ever interacted with on a regular and in any way meaningful basis, was also very emotionally stable and well-adjusted. He'd told Jon, one night, about how he did sometimes feel down or depressed whenever he would encounter transphobes or queerphobes, but it'd be hard for Jon to begrudge that reaction of anyone. Those kinds of people fucking sucked. Beyond those moments, he was overall a very mentally well person. That was something Jon had no experience with, so it was a wonder sometimes, seeing Leakee just be able to. Do Things, with no particular paranoias or delusions holding him back. According to him, his parents and his faith helped out on all accounts.

Jon hadn't expected Leakee to be Catholic, but he didn't really mind nor was he put off by it. He kind of thought it was cute how Leakee would pray before meals, and how he had shyly asked if he could include Jon in his prayers before he slept. Jon had had lots of people tell him they were going to pray for him, but they usually meant it in the sense of ‘I'm going to try and pray the queer out of you’ or 'you need an exorcism because you have demons in your brain’. Leakee had made it clear he just wanted to include Jon along with his family and friends, and that had made Jon feel….really good. There was something nice about the idea of Leakee just wanting to mention him to God, just a little 'hey, watch out for him’ every night. Jon didn't have a whole lot of people watching out for him, but Leakee was.

In return, Jon had, on three non-consecutive and two consecutive occasions, knocked the shit out of anyone who said something negative about Leakee. Jon wouldn't do that for many people; at this point in his life, he only had so much energy for fighting, but damn it all, he wanted to protect Leakee and make sure he was happy, and if he had to risk a battery charge to do so, so be it. 

Jon looked over at the other side of the room. Leakee had a portable keyboard and was sitting on the floor, music in front of him, headphones in his ears, a concentrated look on his face as he made notes and played. He really was always just...stunning.

And yes, friends, Jon  _ was _ still having those feelings about Leakee. Boy, was he having  _ feelings _ about Leakee. To Jon's surprise, it wasn't just his dick, either, he was having real, grown-up emotional feelings, too. Like right now. He felt….fond. Sitting here, watching Leakee work on something for school. Apparently one of his students had written an original piece and he was playing through it to give them his thoughts on it. Jon could only imagine how awesome it must be to have someone as great as Leakee as a teacher. He actually cared about his students. Apparently, Leakee just  _ cared _ about people. Jon can’t remember a time when he himself dedicated so much time to that act. Jon sighed and stood, stretching his arms up over his head and groaning. Leakee looked up at him and pulled his headphones off. 

“You good?”

Jon grumbled for a second, but nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just stiff. I think I’m gonna head to bed, ‘m kinda tired.”

“Alright. Good night, Jon.”

“Night. Feel free to work without the headphones, I sleep through just about anything.”

\---

Anything except nightmares. 

Jon woke up screaming, like he did on occasion. He didn’t have many bad dreams anymore, not since he’d started going to therapy and had been working on his myriad of issues, which we’ll not get into right now. But he did still have the dreams, and good God, they sucked. Jon found himself on the floor, and looked up when his door swung open, Leakee immediately and without hesitation coming to his side. Jon blinked a few times and looked up at Leakee. When had he turned the light on? Leakee put so much thought into everything. 

“Jon? What happened?”

His voice was nice. Jon swallowed and looked around, lifting his arm and taking notice of the cut he’d managed to give himself when he fell out of bed. 

“Shit-come on, we need to clean that.”

Leakee helped Jon untangle himself from the sheets and led him to the bathroom, gently holding Jon’s arm until they got to the bathroom. Jon finally woke up fully when he was sitting on the closed toilet, watching Leakee try to track down the first aid kit. 

“It’s-uh-first aid stuff’s behind the mirror.”

Leakee grabbed the kit and kneeled in front of Jon, cleaning the cut and inspecting it. 

“What happened?”

“Nightmare. Sorry.”

Leakee shook his head, a concentrated look on his face as he put antiseptic on the cut. It burned pretty bad, and Jon squeezed his eyes shut. 

“You don’t have to apologize, I just...I heard you scream and it scared the hell out of me.”

“Guess I should’ve mentioned that before you moved in, huh?”

Leakee glanced up at Jon, those big brown eyes beautiful and still scared. 

“That’s not what I meant. I-I was worried something really bad had happened to you.”

Jon frowned and watched Leakee put a bandage on his arm. Leakee held his hand for a moment, his hair hanging in front of his face. 

“Thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

Leakee glanced up at him again. 

“What was the dream about?”

Jon swallowed. 

“I don’t-I don’t know if I can-talk about that yet-”

“It’s okay, I just-is there anything I can do?”

Jon stared at the man in front of him. Jon was almost sure that no one had ever actually asked him that question before. Very often in his life, he was left to the wolves, to fend and fight for himself, to take care of himself with no help. He’d acclimated to it, to living like that, but he felt an unfamiliar warmth at even the slight suggestion, on Leakee’s part, that Jon was someone who others would want to help. 

“I-can you stay up with me for a little while?”

Part of Jon felt like he was testing Leakee, to see what he’d do, if he really wanted to help. Leakee smiled up at him, still holding his hand. 

“Yeah, of course. Do you want something to drink? Might be a good time to try that tea.”

Jon smiled and nodded. Leakee had been trying to get him to try this tea he swore by for the past three weeks. Jon went to Leakee’s room, instead of his own, and curled up on his bed, under the pile of thick blankets Leakee had. He turned on the tv Leakee had in his room, pulling up Hulu and putting on a cartoon. He needed something that wasn’t real. A few minutes later, Leakee came in with two mugs and paused, smiling softly.

“Aw. You look like a kitten.”

Jon raised an eyebrow. Well….he probably did look like a particularly grumpy kitten, so he couldn’t exactly say that Leakee was wrong. He scooted over so Leakee could sit down, and took the mug from him. Leakee didn’t talk, and didn’t push Jon to. They sat on the bed, watching tv, sipping warm, minty tea. It was...really nice. Different, and novel-Jon had never had a friend do this for him-and he sighed after a few minutes. 

“Some dumb shit happened when I was younger, and it fucked me up really bad, and-I’m trying to deal with it, you know I’m in-like, therapy, and all that shit, but-I used to have a lot more bad dreams and they’re not as bad now, I just...sometimes I still get them.”

Leakee turned his head to look at him, and he nodded. 

“I’m sorry you have to experience that. You don’t ever gotta go into detail on-on all of what happened to you, but-whenever you have those dreams, you can come get me. I’m-well, I’m not happy, cause you’re hurting and I don’t like that, but-I’m happy to help.”

Jon stared down at his mug and smiled. He actually believed that of Leakee. Anyone else had said that, shit, Jon would have laughed in their face and asked them why they were lying to him, but he believed that Leakee meant it. 

“You can stay in here for the rest of the night if you want.”

Jon almost choked on his tea.

“Oh-uh-I don't wanna bother you-”

Jon chanced a look at Leakee, only to see him gently smiling, his face looking exceptionally soft and sweet.

“You wouldn't be. I've shared beds with friends-hell, with my cousins before. I'd just warn you that I kinda turn into an octopus when I sleep near someone.”

“Cuddler?”

Leakee shrugged, damned charming as ever, his cheeks slightly flushed.

“Yeah. Can't help it.”

Jon tried not to blush too much at the idea and related mental images of sharing a bed with Leakee, the thought of his big, warm body against Jon's, of-yeah, he needed to stop there. 

“Hm. Shoulda told me you're a were-topus before you moved in, that's vital information.”

Leakee laughed, but it was hesitant and nervous, and Jon winced. 

“Sorry, I was-that was just kidding. Promise.”

Leakee glanced at him, and Jon could see that his cheeks were red. That was something Jon was working on when it came to living with Leakee; they'd learned a lot about each other over the past few weeks, and something Leakee had opened up about was that he had a lot of trouble gauging sarcasm and flat humor. It had something to do with his learning disabilities, and Jon also knew that it was something Leakee was terribly insecure about. If he was in groups, he'd just laugh whenever others were laughing, but in private, like they were now, he could never tell when he was supposed to laugh. Unfortunately, sarcasm was one of the main languages Jon spoke in, so he'd been working on toning it down for Leakee's sake.

Which really spoke to how much Jon liked him, because Jon pretty much never put in effort for others. Like if it was something seriously triggering, yeah, he'd usually stop, but Leakee was special. Leakee got effort and work on Jon's part to make sure he was comfortable and happy at all times. Jon finished his tea and reached over Leakee to set it on his nightstand-Leakee's bed was in the corner and Jon had placed himself firmly against the wall-before settling back into place. He bit the inside of his lip for a moment before shifting closer to Leakee's side, happy when Leakee wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

“You can get all were-topus on me if you want. I don't really get-I don't share beds a lot but-I might kinda hog the space.”

That got Leakee to laugh and he was fully relaxed against Jon's side, his fingers stroking over Jon's bare biceps. 

“Can't possibly take up more space than I do.”

“You'd be surprised. I'm gangly, I can spread.”

Leakee set his own mug down and turned his lamp off, the room now dark apart from the tv, and Jon felt his breathing pick up. Leakee noticed, because Leakee was good at that, at seeing when someone was hurt or upset, and he turned the light back on.

“Jon? Do you need the light on?”

Jon tried to calm himself, not realizing exactly when or how his hand ended up in Leakee's, but it did make him feel better. It felt grounding, having the other man's presence near him like this. 

“Uh-yeah, maybe-sometimes-the dark freaks me out-”

“I can grab your night light, if that'd help?”

Jon had, over the past few years, forced himself to not be embarrassed about a lot of the things he needed; he habitually sucked his thumb, he liked soft things and 'childish’ comforts, and he needed a night light to get to sleep, even if he had the tv on. His friends often gave him shit for his various needs, because they were all assholes, but he had worked damn hard to not feel bad about the things that made him happy and healthy. Leakee's complete and total lack of judgment made that much easier. 

“Yeah-that-yeah, but-I can just go back to my room, you don't gotta put in all that effort-”

“It's not effort. You're my friend, and you're upset. It's just what I'm supposed to do.”

Leakee squeezed Jon's hand as he spoke, and Jon glanced at him before squeezing back.

“You're-you're really good at that. At-at friend stuff.”

Leakee huffed out a laugh, squeezing Jon's hand again before standing. He left for a minute and came back, Jon's night light in hand-it was in the shape of three mushrooms and let out a soft blue-green light, and Leakee plugged it in next to the bed. He and Jon switched spots so that Jon was closer to the light, and Leakee reached over him to turn the lamp off. Jon tried to quiet his gasp when he felt Leakee's body pressed against him during the movement, though he couldn't really stop the furious blushing that was happening on his face. It did feel warm in the bed, warm and soft and comfortable, and Jon realized he felt….safe. Now that wasn't at all a feeling Jon was familiar with in any way, shape, or form, as his life had been what the ancient Greeks would call a ‘shitstorm of pain and struggle’ up to recently, but he decided to let himself indulge in the feeling of warmth and comfort, provided by a friend, for once in his life. He usually felt afraid of that safety being ripped away from him, because life was a menacing bitch goddess, but he shoved that feeling to the side in favor of pressing back against Leakee a little bit, feeling a warm arm work under him, until he was being held tightly around the waist. Jon, again working against all instinct, let himself smile. 

“You wanna talk for a little or just try and sleep?”

“Just sleep. You gotta rest, too.”

Leakee squeezed him a little, his hand resting flat on Jon's stomach. 

“Don't be afraid to wake me up if you need something. Night.”

“Night.” 

It wasn't much time before Jon felt Leakee's breathing even out into a sleeping pattern, and he followed soon after, snuggling back against Leakee as much as he could, the light from his nightlight and the warmth of the body behind him soothing him, erasing the bad dream from his mind.

\---

Jon sat at the small dining room table, chewing on one of his favorite silicone necklaces, going over some plans his engineer friend wanted him to review. He didn’t mind helping, at least not while knowing that his friend was going to bake him an enormous cake as a reward. But Cameron was also just a nice girl, and he liked being a good friend to the few friends he had. 

His phone dinged, and he picked it up, smiling at the notification from Leakee.

‘ _ hey!! gonna be home soon. want me to pick up food _ ?’

‘ _ if u wanna,yeah. im fine w w/e _ ’

Leakee sent him a string of smiling emojis and Jon rolled his eyes...while grinning and blushing like the damn fool that he was. The school year had officially begun, and Leakee seemed to really enjoy his job, and Jon-and he found this weird as hell-really, really liked hearing about Leakee’s day and his thoughts about his job. When most of his friends started talking about their jobs, Jon would usually just….zone out. He realized that this was probably one of the many contributing factors to him, to quote a solid eighty percent of people who’d met him, ‘being a dick’, but that had not yet stopped him from doing so. 

Of course, Leakee was the first person he’d met who well and truly loved every aspect of their job. He was enthusiastic and happy and loved working with kids. Jon couldn’t help but find it refreshing.

One might start to think that Jon’s main problem is that he’s surrounded by nihilistic, pissed off assholes most of the time. 

Jon kept chewing on his necklace, making notes on the plans, until he heard the door open. He looked up, and saw Leakee carrying in a few bags of food. He was smiling, but-

Hm. 

Jon knew himself fairly well for the most part, and he knew that he wasn’t really all that great at reading people, but as he continued to learn, he was different with Leakee. And Leakee was different now. His energy was….off. His smile didn’t reach his beautiful brown eyes, which  _ never _ happened. Jon let his necklace drop out of his mouth and rest on his chest. 

“Hey-hey dude. What’s up?”

Leakee tried to cover whatever was wrong. Jon may not know people, but he knew what it looked like when someone tried to mask what was bothering them. Leakee smiled and set the bags down on the table, making sure to keep them away from the plans and Jon’s notes. 

“Nothing. Just-long day.”

Jon frowned. 

“What’s wrong?”

Leakee tightened his lips, inhaling a long breath through his nose. 

“Nothing. It’s-”

He paused, biting down on his lip, and he quickly reached up and wiped the back of his hand across his face.

“-it’s nothin’-”

Jon stood, coming to stand in front of Leakee. He hesitated; he wasn’t used to being affectionate. He wasn’t used to comforting someone. He didn’t touch people gently, he didn’t….do any of this. 

He reached up and put his hands on Leakee’s shoulders.

“C’mon-”

He didn’t really expect Leakee to start crying, his expression crumbling, and he basically fell against Jon, wrapping his arms around Jon’s shoulders, hiding his face against his neck. Jon, for his part, caught him easily. Leakee was big, but Jon was strong, and he cupped the back of Leakee’s head, resting his cheek against Leakee’s soft hair. 

“What’s going on, man?”

Leakee squeezed him.

“Can-can we go sit down in my room?”

Jon nodded, and led Leakee to his bedroom, the two of them sitting on Leakee’s bed, and Leakee sniffled, wiping at his eyes. 

“Uh-I was-I was talking with some of the students in the hallway, and a few students passed by and-uh-called me some-they said some really shitty things-”

Jon felt cold all through his body. 

“-uh, just like-misgendering me, and stuff, and...they’ve been doing it for a few days, and-I don’t know what to do-”

Leakee looked like he didn’t know what to do. He looked lost, and it looked terribly out of place on his usually confident self. His hands shifted listlessly on his lap, and he just stared down at them. 

“I don’t-I’ve never thought that any of the kids would do that, and-I don’t know what to do-”

Jon swallowed, trying not to be too-well, he was absolutely furious, possibly more than he ever had been in his life, but he didn’t want to add to Leakee’s frustrations. He reached out, opening his arms and Leakee didn’t hesitate to move closer, pressing up against him, and Jon laid them both down, his arms tight around Leakee, and Leakee’s big head resting on his chest. 

“I-I don’t know if I can tell you what to do about this. I-I never woulda hit the kid, but I woulda lost my goddamn mind on them, you know? There’s no excuse for that, there’s nothing-nothing makes that okay. You need to tell the principal so they can discipline them. That’s all-like-I wish there was some surefire way to make them stop. I’m sorry. I’m-I’m sorry, Lea.”   
Leakee sniffled, and squeezed Jon around his waist again. 

“I-I know. I know that’s what I need to do...I just-I don’t get a lot of shit, and-I know I’m-I’m lucky, I guess, cause I-fucking ‘pass’ or whatever-though I fucking hate that-”

“I know you do-”

They’d had many talks about how the concept of ‘passing’ was stupid and dangerous to trans people, and Jon wished to God he understood better than he did. And he’d never really understand a lot of the issues Leakee faced.

But he could always listen.

“-and-especially cause I’m still so early in transitioning-but I never wanted to hide it, you know? The administration said it was okay to mention being trans, to-not hide it, cause I don’t wanna hide it and I couldn’t work anywhere that wanted me to hide it-cause I’m proud of it, I don’t-”

“I know.”   
“-but this just….maybe I should have just-never mentioned it.”

Jon exhaled quietly through his nose. 

“You remember that kid you were telling me about? Sasha?”

Leakee sniffled, but nodded.

“Yeah-what about her?”

“Well-and I know this doesn’t like….fix the bullshit, it’s not gonna solve any problems, but-you said she came out cause of you. Cause she saw you being open about who you are and how you’re you, and-I mean….I don’t know if this is the right thing to say, but if-if some kid felt better about themselves because they saw me and were like ‘oh shit, I wanna be like that dude’-shit...I’d take all the bullshit in the world if it meant shit was safer for that one kid.”

He felt another squeeze around his waist, and Leakee was quiet for a few minutes.

“I….I mean….that’s not a bad way to think about it. I got-I was caught up in the shittiness of what happened that I hadn’t thought about-maybe the kids who are being mean are the minority.”

“I don’t want you to have to go through that. I really-fuck, you’re the best person I’ve ever fucking known, you shouldn’t have to-even if they’re the minority. Fuck. Sorry, I’m-”

“You’re mad.”

“Not at you-”

“I know, I know you’re not mad at me. I-I just….I’ll talk to the principal tomorrow, and...thank you for getting mad for me.”

Jon gently stroked his fingers through Leakee’s hair. It was growing out more. 

“Like I said….you shouldn’t have to go through all that.”

Leakee sniffled, pressing his forehead against Jon’s chest. 

“Um….Sasha has a girlfriend now, too. She’s nice.”

“That’s really cool.”

They laid there quietly for a while, and Jon kept stroking his fingers through Leakee’s hair, until he looked down and saw Leakee’s eyes drifting closed. He smiled softly and gently squeezed Leakee.

“Hey, you still wanna eat, or you wanna take a nap?”

“Oh-forgot we had food-sorry-”

Leakee grinned up at him, still looking a little sleepy. 

“-you’re really comfy-”

In that moment, it would have been easier for Jon to chew off his own leg than stop himself from kissing Leakee’s sweet smile, but he managed to hold back. Only barely, but he managed, and couldn’t even feel proud, because God, he wanted this man. Leakee snuggled up against him, and Jon was surprised that he didn’t tense up. He was an increasingly worse mess the more he thought about how good Leakee’s body felt against his own, and he swallowed against a strange feeling in his throat when Leakee sighed against his neck.

“Can we eat later? Kinda do wanna nap.”

Jon nodded, one hand coming up to gently wrap around Leakee’s wrist. 

“Y-yeah. Go right ahead.”

Jon didn’t sleep. Jon couldn’t sleep. But he did stay right there, next to and half-under Leakee’s bulk, holding him, and feeling entirely too right and good for what he was used to.


End file.
